In many ways, yesterday's announcement that The Wanted will be taking a break to "pursue personal endeavours" after their current UK tour shouldn't have come as much of a surprise, although we couldn't help but still feel a tinge of sadness about the whole thing.

The group, who were put together five years ago by former Saturdays manager Jayne Collins, were a surprise success story when their debut single 'All Time Low' topped the charts in 2010. At a time when the only chance of a boyband becoming a success was via The X Factor (see: JLS), they proved that the old-fashioned approach - touring schools and nationwide radio promotion - still worked.

Their downfall effectively began only a year later when they reached the peak of their fame with 'Glad You Came'. The track became their second UK number one and months later found its way on to Glee, after which it became a global smash, peaking at number three in the US.

From there, the group seemed to get caught up in repeating the song's success, releasing cookie cutter follow-ups in 'Chasing The Sun' and 'I Found You'; both of which failed to make the same impact. Undeniably not helping matters were their once-upon-a-time rivals One Direction, whose Stateside success still continues to soar.

Things then took a turn for the worse on their most recent album Word Of Mouth. Between the novelty pop of 'Walks Like Rihanna' and Mumford & Sons-esque 'We Own The Night', the group appeared to lose sight of what made them so popular in the first place, and after five preceding singles - almost unheard of for a pop act -Â the album became their lowest-charting to date, peaking at number nine.

That's not to play down The Wanted's achievements; most bands would be delighted with ten top ten singles (including two number ones) and three top ten albums. But it's difficult not to feel even mild shock at their decision to take a break without the string of flops that usually precede such an announcement. The problem is that the expectations of The Wanted - from the public and themselves - became stupidly high; and despite their protests that it really is only a break, we suspect a reunion is quite a way off yet.

And if they don't get back together, we'll always have this:

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